Cumberland County is looking for input on changes to its comprehensive plan and it could have a big effect on your day-to-day life.

The county is growing faster than any other in the state; that means changes are coming. “One of my big sayings is the world is run by the people that show up,” said Kirk Stoner, the county’s planning director.

He wants more of that growing population to do just that — show up. The county is making it easier with an online survey to update the comprehensive plan. It covers a wide range of topics, from natural and cultural resources to transportation.

“We’re seriously considering their input,” he said. “I mean, we don’t go through these public involvement exercises like this just as window dressing.”

“The impacts of the land use planning process are widespread,” county commissioner Gary Eichelberger said. “They affect everybody in this county and they affect them in different ways.”

Whether it’s housing or farm preservation, county leaders like Eichelberger, who’s also the commissioners’ liaison to the planning group, plan to take your opinions from the survey and translate those into policy.

“We want to public to tell us if we’re on the right track with our preservation and growth strategies or if we need to make a change,” he said.

This round of the comprehensive plan was established back in 2003; it’s been updated periodically. The county hopes thousands of people take this survey, available until the end of April.

“After that it’s all about implementation and really, again,” Stoner said, “we want to look at what we have on the table in terms of interest areas to our residents, look how we can move forward with those from a county standpoint.”

Get breaking news, weather and traffic on the go. Download our News App and our Weather App for your phone and tablet.